September 12, 2011 10:52pm EDTSeptember 12, 2011 1:42pm EDTTom Brady takes over the Monday Night Football stage and has a career night. He sets a Patriots record by going off for 517 yards and four touchdowns in a season-opening win over Miami.

Staff report

What's at stake

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The Jets and Bills opened Sunday with victories, meaning the loser of MNF's early game (7 p.m. ET kickoff) starts the season in an early division hole. On paper, this one shouldn't be close but Bill Belichick is a mortal 5-6 at Miami as the Patriots head coach. Also, the Dolphins' strength is on defense, where CB Vontae Davis proclaimed this offseason that Miami boasts the best cover tandem in the NFL with fellow corner Sean Smith. Outside linebacker Cameron Wake, third last year in the NFL with 14 sacks, will get a chance to exploit Patriots rookie Nate Solder, who gets the start in place of injured right tackle Sebastian Vollmer.

"It's a dangerous group," Patriots QB Tom Brady said. "They're experienced in the secondary. They've been playing together now for a little while and they're very good, especially when the pass rush gets going." It likely adds up to a puncher's chance for the Dolphins, who have much more to prove than their opponent.

Critical matchup

Dolphins running game vs. Patriots defensive line. Belichick re-made his defense by installing a hybrid scheme (sometimes 3-4, sometimes 4-3) and loading up with veteran players along the front. Albert Haynesworth, acquired to wreak havoc in opposing backfields, is already questionable due to illness. The Dolphins went looking for a more explosive running game with Reggie Bush and second-round pick Daniel Thomas replacing Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Thomas is questionable with a hamstring injury, leaving Larry Johnson and Lex Hilliard as support for Bush.

If Miami can't pile up yards on the ground, the rest of New England's defensive line (Vince Wilfork, Andre Carter, Shaun Ellis) will tee off on Chad Henne. Too many Miami three-and-outs translates to more Brady on the field. That's never a good recipe for an upset.

X-factor

Chad Ochocinco. Forget the poor offseason. Ochocinco lives for games like this — national spotlight and a chance to prove detractors wrong. He even cooled down his normally over-active Twitter account (one report suggested that directive came from Belichick) leading up to tonight's game. Brady has plenty of options with Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, but it's in New England's interest to get Ochocinco involved early and feed off his big-stage persona. Belichick took a chance on Ochocinco essentially for one role — playmaker. If Ochocinco gets lost in the shuffle, the question will quickly become "Where's Chad"?